Inside Nature‚Äôs Giants, which starts on Monday, is the brainchild of producer David Dugan of Windfall Films (also behind The Operation: Surgery Live). ‚ÄúI had been reading about Darwin and early animal dissections carried out by his friend Richard Owen,‚ÄĚ Dugan says. ‚ÄúEach animal‚Äôs evolutionary past is hidden within its anatomy. These dissections gave us the chance to show how natural selection created these animals.‚ÄĚ

Before the workings of the elephant can be dissected, the team has to release the build-up of gases caused by decomposition and fermentation (elephants produce 2,000 litres of methane a day, enough to fill a weather balloon). The resultant hiss of escaping gas is deafening. Having unpacked the elephant‚Äôs massive guts, the team examines its trunk (a marvel of engineering that saves the elephant from having to lower its weighty head to pick up food), its ears (flooded with blood vessels...